Fence-machine



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2. C. E. ANDERSON.

FENCE MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 8

@31 @Whom/mmf UNITED STATES PATENT Ormea CHARLES E; ANDERSON, OF LA PORTE, INDIANA.

FENCEQMACHIN.

PECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,650, dated November 8, 1887.

Application filed July lf3, 1887. Serial No. 244,092. (No model.)

To all whom it 71mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, GTL-ruinas E. ANDEnsoN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at La Porte, in the county of La Porte and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fence-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in machines for building fences, and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices, whichwill be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side'elevation of a fence-machine embodying my improvements, showing the same in the act kof building a fence.. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the twisting device. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of the tensionequalizing device. Fig. at is a detail sectional View. Fig. 5 is a detached perspective view showing the manner of using one of the twistling-arms to tighten the wires in an old felice,

and thereby take up the slack. Fig. G isa perspective view of a modication.

A represents a bar, which is provided with a series of arms, B, that project therefrom at right angles, the said arms being arranged at suitable regular distances apart andthe bar being provided with any desired number of said arms. Each arm B has its inner end screw -threaded and extended through an opening in the bar A, and clamping-nuts O are screwed onto the threaded ends of the arms and bear against the front and rear sides of the bar A, thereby securely fastening the arms thereto. The outer ends of the arms B are curved downward, as at D, and are then bent outward at rightangles, to form laterallyextending spindles E. At the inner end of these spindles is a washer, F.

G represents a series of twisting-arms, one of which is p rovided for each arm The said twisting-arms are curved in siginoidal forni, as shown, and arc provided at their extremities with openings H, adapted to receive the spindles F, and thereby the said twistingarms may be attached at either extremity to the spindles. In the central portions of the twisting-arms are made open slots I, which extend in opposite directions and are in line with each other, the said slots being only very slightly larger than the diameters of the wires a, which are employed in making the fence. The twisting-arms are pivoted on the spindles of arms B, as shown. Washers K are placed on the outer ends of the said spindles, and pins L are inserted in transverse openings in the said spindles to retain the washers and the twisting-arms in position thereon.

N represents a series of securing-cleats, which are secured to one side of the bar A, one ofthe said cleats being provided for each arm B. The said cleats have the oppositely-extending vertical arms O, and the spaces formed between the said arms and the opposing side of the bar A are sufficient in width to receive the free ends of the twisting-arms. The outer side of the bar A is provided at a suitable distance from its upper end with a handle, P, adapted to be grasped by the right hand of the operator.

It represents a tension device, which is adapted to be anchored at one end of the proposed line of fence. The construction of the said tension device is as follows:

S represents a vertical frame comprising a pair ot' vertical boards, T, which are connected near their ends by means of cross-boards U, of suitable length.

V represents a pair of bolts, which connect the boards T near their upper and lower ends, and are provided with nuts whereby the said boards T may be clamped firmly on the ends of the boards U.

X represents a shaft, which extends transversely through the boards T, near the upper ends thereof. One end of the said shaft projects beyond one side of the frame, and to the opposite end ofthe frame is attached a crank,Y.

Z represents a pair ot' clamping-springs, which are preferably made of wood and connected together by means of a set-screw, A. The upper ends of the said clamping-springs bear against opposite sides ot' the projecting spindle ofthe shaft X, and the lower ends ofthe said springs are pivoted to one side of frame S by means of a bolt or pin, B. By turning the set-screw the clamping-springs may be caused to bear against the spindle ofthe shaft with any desired force, and thereby create as much friction as may be necessary to prevent retrograde rotation of the shaft.

C represents a pair-oi vertical bars, which IOC are arranged parallel with each other and are of the post b, and the twisting device is then connected at suitable regular distances by bolts D', on which are journaled rollers E', the said rollers being arranged between the bars C', as shown. From the center of the bars O' projects a rearward-extending pair of arms, F', the rear ends of which are connected by a transverse bolt, G', on which is journaled a pulley, H'.

I' represents a wire of suitable thickness, which is attached to the upper end ofthe frame S, is then passed around the pulley H', and has its opposite extremity attached to the shaft X and coiled thereon.

K' represents wires which pass over the rollers E' and have their free ends extending forward from the bars C. Tothe said free ends of the said wires are attached clevises L', and between the arms of the said clevises are journaled pulleys M'.

N' represents wires which pass around the rear sides of pulleys L, and have their front ends provided with eyes O'.

The operation of my invention is as follows: A suitable post, b, is erected at one end of the proposed line of fence, and the tension device R is anchored in a vertical position at a suitable distance beyond the opposite end of the proposed line of fence by means of chains or rods c, which are attached to the upper end of the tension device and to a stake, d, which is driven in the ground. The wires a are attached to the post I), are doubled thereon, and the ends of the wires are carried forward and passed through the eyes in the wires 'N'. Loops are formed in the front ends of the wires a, and wooden blocks or pins e are inserted in the said loops and bear against the eyes of wires N', thereby firmly securing the wires a thereto. The shaft X is then turned so as to cause the wire I' to be wound thereon, and thereby draw the equalizing device toward the tension device, 4and thereby stretch the wires a along the proposed line of fence to the requisite tension. Inasmuch as the wires K are permitted to slip freely over the rollers E', andinasmuch as the wires N' are permitted to slip freely over the pulleys M', the wires a will all be stretched at the same tension, as will be readily understood. When the wires a have been stretched, the operator inserts the twisting-arms G between the pairs of wires and places eachwire a in one of the u is then inserted in the bights of the wires on the rear sides of the twisting-arms, the said picket is forced to withina suitable'distancel operated to cause the twisting-arms to rotate inthe opposite direction from that previously described, and thereby twist the wires on the front side of the picket. The twisting device is then moved forward a suitable distance on the wires, another picket is then inserted in place and forced to within a suitable distance of the first picket, and the operation before described is then repeated, and so on until a sufficient number of pickets have been secured between the wires to form one panel of the fence. The wires are then attached to a suitable fence-post by means of staples, and the before-described operation is continued until the fence is completed.V As the wires are twisted together between the pickets, the

from the slots of the twisting-arms, moves the twisting device forward a sufficient distance to clear the splices, and then reinserts the wires in the slots, as before.

I do not desire to limit myself to the use of the pulleys H in the tension-equalizing device, as I may discard the said pulleys and employ semicircular yokes in lieu thereof, as shown in Fig. 4, the said yokes being provided with peripheral grooves adapted to receive and retain the wires N'.

Fences constructed as hereinbefore described sag after a certain length of time, owing to the wires becoming stretched under the con-V stant tensile strain to which they are subjected. In order to overcome this defect it is only necessary to detach one of the twistingarms in my fence-machine and insert the pairs of wires a, successively, in one of thes lots I thereof,and rotate the said twisting-arm by hand, thereby making additional twists in the wires, and consequently taking up the slack therein.

If it is desired to merely cross thel wires between the pickets when constructing the fence, this may be accomplished by operating the bar A so as to cause the twisting-arms to move through only half a circle.

In order to keep the wires parallel when working over uneven ground,I provide a gage which is composed of a bar, P', having staples or keepers R' driven into it over each pair of wires, so as to confine the wires in place. This gage is moved along the wires in advance of the twisting device from time to time, and keeps the wires disposed in parallel lines, as will be readily understood.

In Fig. 6 I illustrate a modified form of my twisting device, in which the bar A has the arms B,and the twisting-arms are shortened and provided at only one extremity with an opening, through which they may be pivotally bolted to the arms B. In this modiled form (dll the cleats have arms S, that project outward from the bar A, and have vertical heads T attached to their outer ends and arranged at a suitable distance from the opposing sides of the arms B, so that the free ends of the twisting-arms are free to pass between the cleats and the arms B.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. The combination, in a wire-twisting inachine for building` fences, of the bar A, the cleats N on one side thereof,having the vertical arrnsO extending in opposite directions, the arms B, projecting from one side of the bar A at right angles to the cleats, and the twistingarms G, each having one end pivoted to the outer end of one of the arms B, the said twisting-arms being provided in opposite sides CHARLES E. ANDERSON.

'Witncsscsz MORGAN H. Wam, FRANK L. BOYD. 

